Borderline Primal
by Courage of Awesome
Summary: AU. Sheik is male. LinkxOC SheikxOC. Yokai have been living with the races of Hyrule for years, but only just been integrated into society. Some yokai are so close to the beast, they lose themselves and are known as Primals. Some want to expose this and have yokai terminated. Can a young kitsune and her friends change the people's opinion? Or die from an evil unlike any other?
1. Chapter 1

**A new story! Woo! So excited!**

**As a forewarning, I wanted to let you guys know that this is an AU between an OC and Link (of course) and it will be using Japanese terms and traditions, but will have no literal relation to the country of Japan. In other words, it's not Japan, but I'm using stuff from there. And no, I'm not going to say the last name first like they do over there. It's too confusing.**

**Now that that is taken care of, please enjoy this new story Borderline Primal. Oh, and I still, unfortunately, don't own Zelda.**

**Translation of Japanese words will be provided at the end of the chapter. Sheik is male in this fic.**

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><p><em>I stared out of the car window as it rolled along the road. I loved seeing the colors of the world blur by. The forest outside of our car whizzed by in greens, browns, reds, yellows, whites, and just about every other color. A dark shape suddenly darted out and ran in front of the car. My scarlet eyes went wide as daddy slammed on the brakes.<em>

_The car stopped, lurching violently. Daddy turned around in his seat. "Is everyone all right?" he asked, running a hand through his reddish-brown hair._

_"I'm okay, Daddy," I panted._

_"I'm fine," mommy answered. She braced her forehead and moved some of her blonde hair away from her face. She took in a deep breath and rubbed her bulging stomach. "We're fine."_

_We all turned and looked out of the windshield, trying to see what ran out in front of us. It had been another person, and he was still in front of the car. The man was crouched in front of the car, eyes alert and furry ears forward. His probably blonde hair was shaggy and brown now, as well as his ears and tail. Black tuffs of fur, splayed out on the ends of the ears and tail, and yellow eyes glared at us. He was a cougar yokai. But he was different from mommy, daddy, and me._

_"He," daddy abruptly began, "is someone you would be wise to stay away from. You must never go near a man like that, Misaki. He is what is known as a Primal."_

_I looked at daddy. "What's a… a premale?" I asked, mispronouncing the word. After all, I was only five._

_Mommy sighed. "Primal, Misaki. It means that man has let his inner beast completely take over. There is no more man left in him. He may be more free, but he has no mind."_

_"If you ever cross a man like that, he won't hesitate to rip you limb from limb," daddy continued._

_I looked back at the man, but he was gone. He had disappeared. Were Primals really so dangerous?_

_"Yes, Daddy."_

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><p>"Misaki! Watch the road! Oi!"<p>

"Huh? Ah!" I shouted, turning the wheel rapidly. The car quickly got back onto the right side of the road. "Whew, sorry, Hikari. I was thinking about something," I apologized to my friend.

She grabbed her jet black braid and began pulling on it. She often did this when she was nervous, but when she wasn't messing with it, her hair went to her hips. Her amber eyes were still a little wide, and I imagined her heart was, ironically, beating as fast as a bird's. Hikari was a tengu yokai, but more specifically, she was a sparrow. This resulted in her being small, but even for a sparrow she was small. Standing at four-foot-three and weighing a whopping seventy-five pounds, Hikari Tsubaki developed a Napoleon complex and absolutely hated it when she was compared to a child.

I, on the other hand was around five-foot-seven and weighed about one hundred and thirty-two pounds, so I was average. But compared to Hikari, I felt like a giant. However, both of us were nothing but lean muscle, lucky for us. We had Hikari's parents to thank for our health.

"What were you thinking about?" Hikari asked me.

I ran my hand over my head and through my snow white hair. "Just something from the past. Nothing important."

Hikari crossed her arms and huffed. "Seems pretty important if we almost died," she huffed.

With a sigh, I reached over and turned on the radio. Immediately, a catchy J-Pop tune came on. And of course, Hikari and I knew all the words. Our voices immediately belted out the lyrics, harmonizing to the melody. And I don't mean to brag, but we weren't too shabby.

The song ended with us panting in a comfortable silence. We looked at each other and started laughing out of nowhere. "We're so stupid!" Hikari laughed.

"Speak for yourself. I graduated as valedictorian," I brought up.

"I know. I was there in the back with the normal students with the normal GPA's, Brainiac. Besides, you may be book smart, but I'm the one with the street smarts," she bragged.

I waved my hand. "Yeah, yeah. If only I had blessed with both. Fortunately for me, I have you to keep me sane."

Hikari chuckled. "Oh ho, my naïve, little Misaki. I am your sanity."

I faked a gasp. "I'm doomed."

We laughed and laughed as we drove, but it was true. I was extremely smart, book smart. However, I didn't exactly know much about the current outside world. I mean, I know about the world and what's in it, but I've never experienced it first hand, so I was often duped. Call it a quirk; I was naïve.

We drove for another five miles before Hikari groaned. "How much further?!" Gosh, she was impatient.

I scratched behind one of my furry, white fox ears. "Shouldn't be too much longer. This place is deep in the Ordon Province way past Faron."

Hikari threw her head back and groaned again. "And what kind of job is this?"

"I have to restore a large Victorian style mansion and convert into a lodge of sorts. The owners want to make the place a nice relaxing vacation spot for people."

"So we're modernizing?"

I shook my head.

"No, 'I' am keeping everything but the bathroom and the kitchen the same. Electrical work has already been run through the house as well as running water. When their last conservator wanted to modernize everything, they drew the line and fired her. They wanted to keep most of it authentic," I explained, emphasizing the part where it was me doing the work.

Hikari gaped. "Then what am I doing here?!" she shouted.

I laughed. "Your parents wanted me to keep an eye on you."

Hikari made a stunned look. "Me? Keep an eye on me? I'll be the one keeping an eye on you! Knowing you, you'd get yourself taken advantage of really terribly."

"You mean like robbed or conned?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Much worse."

I was perplexed. What was worse than getting robbed? All your money would be gone. Though, I suppose you could go to the bank and cancel your cards and get compensation. So what? I voiced my thoughts.

My best friend blanched. "Think about it, Misaki. Just think." So I did… and I was still confused. With a sigh, Hikari began. "Misaki, you're a pretty girl and there are desperate people out there that will do anything to get what they want and… please don't make me finish this!"

That I understood, and the result was color splashing over my cheeks that could rival a tomato. "Hikari!" I exclaimed.

She shrugged, hands up in the air. "What?! It's true!"

I hid my blush behind one of my hands, the other firmly on the wheel. "Just… shut up, Hikari. Shut up."

"What?! I'm just saying!"

I groaned, but it immediately turned into a sigh of relief as the old mansion came into sight. "Thank, Goddesses," I sighed.

Hikari continued to ramble on about me and getting taken advantage of, and I tried to ignore her and contain my blush. When I parked the car and turned it off, I practically threw myself out of it. Hikari followed, still talking.

"Hikari! Enough! I get it!" I finally snapped, growling at the end.

"Okay, okay. You didn't have to shout," she mumbled.

I sighed and proceeded to stretch out the five white tails behind me. They straightened out behind me to their full extent and fluffed out. Hikari followed my example, so as she popped her back, she let her wings flare out. Her wings were a deep red in the primary and secondary feathers, but the coverts were black. At full extent, her wings had a solid nine foot wingspan. Ironically, Hikari was afraid of heights and wouldn't fly higher than halfway up a cellphone tower.

Moving to the back of the car, I popped the trunk and grabbed our bags, handing Hikari's to her. "Okay, my lovely kitsune. Where to?" Hikari asked as she grabbed her bags.

I pointed up the walkway. "I'm assuming that way." I went back to digging stuff out of the trunk like pictures of my work and my resume.

"Yeah, yeah," she agreed thoughtfully. "Also, who are the people we're staying with?"

"Uh, a nice young couple and their son."

"Mmhmm, and they're yokai or Hylian?"

I grew confused. "Hylian, I believe. And before you ask, they have no problem with me being a kitsune. Why are you asking all this?"

"Because here they come."

I froze. "Uh, oh."

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><p>A few thousand years ago, when yokai were discovered, a huge war broke out. The Hylians, Zoras, Gorons, and Gerudo were terrified to learn that beast-men had been living beside them from the beginning of time. And as they say, men fear what they do not understand.<p>

It's only been two centuries since yokai were integrated into society. The relationship between yokai and the other races of Hyrule is still a little rocky. And a few of the races were still really hostile towards each other. My parents were proof of that. They were killed by a cult of yokai haters, but I wasn't angry. After all, the other races were killed by yokai as well. We're all to blame.

Now, I had two Hylians coming towards us… scratch that… make that three. There was a man, a very pregnant woman, and a boy on the man's shoulders. They were all fair haired. As they came closer, the man's dark beard became clearer and I could see the green-blue of his irises. His son shared the same eye color as his wife, a soft baby blue.

"Hi!" the woman smiled as she waddled over. "You must be Misaki Tsuki, the new conservator?"

"That's right," I nodded. "This is Hikari. She'll be staying with me during my stay."

"Well, I'm Uli and this is my husband Rusl and my son Colin," the woman introduced, her family nodding at their names.

"It's a pleasure, young ladies," Rusl greeted. "We're lucky to have you here."

Colin climbed off his dad's back and hid. He peeked out from around his dad's legs. He looked scared. Poor kid…

I laughed lightly. "Glad to be here."

Rusl motioned up the path. "Shall we?" I nodded as Rusl grabbed his wife's arm. We followed them up the path to the house. "Word to the wise," Rusl began. "Don't go after dark. Okay?"

"Yes, sir," I said.

As we followed the small family, I felt as if something was watching us. I turned around and peered into the surround trees leading into the woods. A dark figure suddenly dashed and went deeper, disappearing from sight. It had an oddly human shape.

_Was that a… Nah, it couldn't be. I mean why on earth would a Primal be here? _I questioned myself. _Nah, totally not a Primal._

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><p><strong>End of the first chapter. Time for the translation guide.<strong>

**Yokai (Yo-kye) – a Japanese demon, often resembling a human with animal-like features.**

**Misaki (Mi-sah-kee) – common Japanese name for a girl; a flowering blossom.**

**Hikari (Hi-car-ee) – Japanese word for light.**

**Tengu (ten-goo) – Japanese bird demon.**

**Kitsune (Kit-soon-eh) – Japanese term for fox or fox demon.**

**Tsubaki (Tsoo-bah-kee) – a scentless flower.**

**J-Pop – Japanese pop.**

**Tsuki (Tsoo-kee) – Japanese word for moon.**

**Conservator – a person who restores old houses and antiques like furniture.**

**I believe that covers everything for this chapter. I really hope you guys like this.**

**Please rate and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Time for another chapter of (drum-roll)…. Borderline Primal.**

**Wouldn't it be weird if I accidentally posted a chapter on the wrong story. People would be so confused… I wonder if I can get flames because of that…. Oh well (shrugs).**

**Anyway, I don't own Zelda, nor will I ever… unless something happens to Miyamoto… like retirement! Maybe if I worked at Nintendo, he'd pass the torch to me… yeah, probably not, but I can dream.**

**Enjoy! **

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><p><em>The fire raged on and on. It engulfed everything, adding to its frightening blaze. Nothing would be spared.<em>

_A soft whimper escaped from my throat as I cowered under the table, the two tails behind me trembling with fear. Who were these people? What did they want from us? Why had they set our home on fire?_

_I heard the telltale sounds of hot metal ripping through flesh and the masculine scream that followed. A loud thump drew my attention and I screamed as my gaze landed on the fallen form of my father. His eyes were wide and lifeless. Blood was pooling out from his mouth, nostrils, and especially from the gaping hole in his chest, a sword blade still embedded inside._

_The blade was pulled free and then jerked forward, flinging droplets of blood on my face. I held back a scream as the boots belonging to the sword wielder walked away. I sighed in relief when he left, but that sigh quickly turned into sounds of terror as the table was flipped off of me._

_"Look what we have here," a gravelly voice said. "A poor, pathetic kit. What should we do with it, O fearless leader?" I looked up at the man speaking only to see his face covered with a mask._

_Another voice spoke far behind me, and I couldn't see the man. "Kill it," the voice ordered._

_The man above me laughed. "Yes, sir!"_

_I couldn't take it anymore. I was a yokai and I would not be put down like some rabid animal! If they wanted to kill me, they'd have to catch me first! Growling at the man, my fangs bared, I got into a crouched position._

_"Oh, look. It wants to play!" the man from before chuckled with glee. If he wanted to play, we would play. With a roar, I launched myself directly at the man's face and scratched at the flesh underneath with my claws, drawing blood. The man screamed in pain and fell to the floor._

_Now was my chance!_

_I rushed out of our humble home and out the door, stopping to pull on the frame of the door. The cinders in the hot wood scorched my palms, but I ignored the pain. Using all of my strength, I made the frame collapse in on itself, trapping the men inside. I could hear their screams of outrage and fear as they pounded against the walls of the house._

_Adrenaline coursed through my veins, giving me energy, and I took off. I didn't make it far, though. A loud clapping sound, almost like thunder, ripped through the air, and I felt a searing pain in my shoulder. I fell to my side and turned to see who had shot my six and a half self. It was the man that I had scratched. He had gotten out._

_"You'll pay!" he hissed. "Your whole race will pay!" He took aim with his gun and fired…_

_I didn't feel any pain, but the person in front of me did. She stood in front of me like a protective shield, her arms outstretched on both sides of her, her blonde hair shining in the glow of the burning house. Another shot echoed and her body spasm again._

_"Mommy!" I shouted._

_"You will not… hurt my little Misaki!" she panted. Her body convulsed again as another shot rang in my ears. My mother's head turned and she looked at me with the face of a bloodied angel. "Run, Misaki… RUN!" she shouted._

_Tears were pouring down my face, but I listened to my mommy and ran. After all, that's what good little kids did. I stopped to look back, but quickly learned against that when another bullet grazed my leg._

_I continued on for what would be hours, never stopping, my lungs and limbs burning in agony, the cold metal of my locket a sharp contrast against my sweaty skin. The guy chasing me eventually gave up, having gotten an order from his boss, but I refused to stop. _

_At some point, I made it to another town and was brought to the police station by a nice older Hylian couple. I remember telling the police everything… and I remember the excruciating pain of gaining two more tails. Misery loves company._

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><p>I bolted up in my new bed, flinging the comforter off of my sweaty body. My hair was plastered to my face, and I panted heavily. I hadn't remembered that memory in a long time. Why was I remembering it now?<p>

My tails wrapped around me, almost as if knowing I needed comforting. Sometimes I thought my tails had a mind of their own. I snuggled into the fluffy fur and flopped back down. My head turned to the side and my gaze landed on my alarm clock.

4:32 a.m. I still had a full twenty-eight minutes until I had to wake up. However, seeing how I wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, I got up and began my day a little earlier. I headed to the kitchen of my new apartment and quickly made some toast covered with strawberry jelly—jam—jelly? I shrugged. Who cared what it was called? All I cared was that it was good and somewhat healthy.

This whole apartment complex was owned by my new bosses, and as part of the deal, Hikari and I both got an apartment. It was totally awesome and it was only a three to five minute drive to the job sight.

I turned on the TV in the living room as I ate, interested with what was on the local news this morning. A pretty Gerudo woman appeared on the screen behind the news anchor desk. "Another attack took place last night at approximately two o'clock this morning on a young Hylian family on Lantern Street. The killer is suspected to be a male juvenile coyote yokai due to the fur found at the scene of the attack. I don't know about you, but I'd be keeping an eye out on my neighbors."

I flipped off the TV, not wanting to hear anymore garbage. None of this made any sense. Just because one yokai had a problem with the world meant they were going to suspect every yokai? What a load of bull!

Angered, I placed my plate on the counter by my sink and retreated back to my room. I threw open a box on the floor, marked clothes and dug through it. I pulled out a pair of black slacks and a nice blue blouse. I quickly dressed and went into the bathroom down the hall to finish getting ready. I brushed my teeth with fervor and practically ripped my brush through my snow white tresses. That stopped quickly when my scalp became sore from the pulling. With much gentler motions, I finished getting ready by brushing out the fur on my ears and tails.

I was ready to face my day.

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><p>I groaned at the poor sight in front of me. Turning to my new bosses, I gave them a sugary sweet smile. "Please don't take this offensively when I say this, but your last conservator did a very sucky job. In short, what they did was trash."<p>

Rusl nodded his blonde head. "I agree with you completely, but I must ask, what makes you think you could do better?"

"Valid question," I noted. "I can see why your thrown off considering I'm very young, at the age of twenty-one, to be considered professional. Heck, I'm just barely old enough to drink. Well, allow me to put your mind at ease." I paused before beginning again. "You see both myself and Hikari are very smart and were placed quite a few grades ahead of everyone else, making us graduating a full three years early with about two years of college already under our belts. While Hikari, as I've said before, is very smart, I happened to graduate as valedictorian for a gifted class and I completed eight years' worth of college in as little as three and a half. Resulting in how young I am. But if you look at my resume, you will see that I'm very qualified and still have room to grow."

Hikari whistled. "That's my Misaki!"

Uli laughed. "Believe me, Miss Tsuki. We know just how qualified you are. We were just making sure you knew why."

"It's not a problem. I completely understand. And please, call me Misaki. Miss Tsuki makes me sound old," I said.

Uli nodded. "You may do the same. I much prefer Uli as well. Rusl too."

I nodded and turned to Hikari. "Could you get my project board from the car?" I asked her.

She smiled wide. "Will do… Miss Tsuki!" she laughed.

With a sigh, I shook my head. "She loves to antagonize me," I explained to the confused Hylians. "She's done it since the first day I met her."

"When was that?" Rusl asked with a smile.

"They day her family adopted me, but enough about past happenings. I'd like to go over some things."

"Of course," Rusl replied, "But we'd like to introduce you to someone first. Follow us, please."

Hikari chose that moment to show up. She handed me my project clipboard and we followed our two bosses. They led us into one of the many construction zones inside the mansion. Contractors were working diligently in rebuilding the floors and making them sturdy as well as various other parts of the building. I noted how they had imported detailing covered and protected and I nodded in appreciation.

In the midst of all the chaos was a young man overseeing everything. "Sheik! Sheik! Come over here for a second!" Rusl yelled over all the construction.

The young man turned and walked towards us, his long, blonde braid swishing behind him, his long, blonde tail following suit. This man was a cat yokai, a neko. The ears on top of his head were flattened against his head, much like my own, to block out some of the noise. I took the time to notice the black marking on the end of the neko's tail; it was like it was dipped in paint. His red eyes, lighter than my own, accessed Hikari and me.

"What can I help you with?" the neko asked, his voice smooth.

"Sheik, I'd like to introduce you to the new conservator. This is Misaki," Rusl explained.

"It's nice to meet you, Misaki," Sheik said, holding out a claw-tipped hand.

I gripped his hand firmly and shook, smiling at him. "Likewise, oh, and this is my partner in crime Hikari."

"To you as well, then," Sheik smiled at her.

Hikari gave out a low bird-like whistle. I think the little bird was attracted to the neko… which was strange since Hikari hated cats, being a bird and all.

"Sheik is our project manager. He oversees anything and everything, especially construction. He makes sure they don't damage any important features," Rusl's voice said, breaking through my muddled mind.

"Well, I sure appreciate it. Makes my job a whole lot easier."

Sheik nodded. "I imagine so. I did a little conservation, so I know what it's like when some construction workers ding something up."

"You don't say," Hikari brought up. "You should've see Misaki's face when someone had bumped into an antique table. I thought the poor guy was going to lose an arm!"

"Well, he chipped it!" I defended myself.

Everyone around me laughed while my face turned three shades of red. "Well that's beside the point," Uli abruptly spoke. "Sheik, why don't you tell Misaki and Hikari a little about yourself over a nice lunch."

He nodded. "I could eat."

"Good," Rusl joined in. "Because we've ordered out. We can work a little later. Lunch will give us a good time to discuss our plans."

I smiled. "Sounds good."

We all grew silent as we headed for the recently built patio. It was nice. Uli suddenly spoke. "Has anyone seen my rupee purse?" She sighed. "Monkeys."

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><p>Lunch had been nice, but a little awkward. Sheik, as requested, told us a little about himself. Apparently, he was a half-breed. His father had been a blonde panther yokai and his mother was a Sheikah. It must've been hard for him, being a half-breed. Almost everyone was prejudice against half-breeds.<p>

Sheik was a good sport when I refused to tell him much about myself. I got away with telling him that I was a kitsune and albino with adoptive parents that were sparrows. He didn't push me.

Hikari on the other hand was happy to tell Sheik almost everything about herself. After lunch, the two had went on a walk down by the pond and were gone for more than ten minutes. We got to work immediately after their return.

We changed into some work clothes covered with various stains and started to work in the rooms that were done with construction, so the foyer and parlor. We were still in the first room, still polishing all of the wood until they gleamed with a healthy glow. Hikari was using her wings to her advantage. She was hovering at the ceiling, polishing the wood molding at the top of the walls. I was stuck on the floor.

I grabbed some more polish from the can in my tail's grasp and distributed it onto the rag before setting back to work. I rubbed the wooden base boards in circular motions before I realized something. We would have to polish the hard wood floors and wax the marble ones. Great. I flopped backwards on the floor, my tails fanning out behind me, and groaned. I hated floors. After you finished with them, they'd always get dirty or ruined with people walking on them. I huffed.

The sound of rummaging made my ears twitch. I sat up and looked out the open window towards my car. The driver side door was open. Strange, I didn't remember leaving it open. That's when a monkey popped its head out the door, a small bag in her hand. My eyes widened, then narrowed. My locket, the last thing I had of my parents was in that bag!

"Hey!" I shouted out the window, scaring both the monkey and Hikari. My friend fell to the floor just in time to see me jump through the window and after the scampering monkey.

"Misaki!" I heard Hikari shout. "What is it?! What happened?!"

"That monkey has my locket! I'll be back!" I shouted my reply, not turning around. I glanced up at the orange and pink sky. I needed to hurry if I was to make it back before sunset. But who knew how long it would take me to track this monkey down.

The small creature bolted for the woods, and I followed with little thought. Would following this monkey end up being a mistake?

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><p>I panted as I traversed the dark woods in a light jog. Sunset had long since passed and it was now pitch black. Only the tiniest slivers of moonlight peeked through the leaves of the tree canopy. Thank the goddesses for kitsune having excellent night vision!<p>

The monkey had gone pretty far into the woods. During the chase, the little scamp had discarded my bag, but not without taking out the locket. It really wanted that thing.

When Uli had complained about monkeys, I had assumed she had been talking in the form of a metaphor. Nope, she was talking about a literal monkey. Apparently, they had been swiping things around here for years. It was mostly shiny things like my locket.

After about ten more minutes of jogging, I stopped and slumped against the trunk of a tree. How far had I gone in already? How far did I still have to go to catch this monkey? I inhaled deeply and stood back up to bend backwards and pop my back. Then I saw it. My eyebrows drew together in confusion. I straightened up and peered into the branches of the tree. I could make out the small, furry form of a small animal. The monkey!

The creature howled at me, clutching my locket in its hand. It suddenly leaped to another tree, continuing on from there. I gave chase. While the furry animal leaped from tree to tree, I followed on foot on the ground, waiting for it to misstep even though that was unlikely. To my relief, it did misstep. The monkey barely had time to grab onto the tree again, my locket flying from its grip. With one last screech, the monkey retreated, leaving me and my locket behind. Now I just had to find it.

I got down on all fours and began searching in the underbrush, pushing away plants and leaves, looking for my locket. As I searched, the hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood up as a presence made itself known. The fur on my tails bristled as a low, deep growl echoed from all around me.

My eyes were wide in panic and fear. My muscles were tense, and I could feel the beginnings of sore shoulders emerging. My leg shifted over slightly, scattering some leaves, making the growling increase. I dared not move after that.

It felt like minutes before the growling stopped and I risked standing up. I strained my ears to listen for any wild sounds before slowly standing. Looking up, I froze once again. About ten feet away was my locket… in the grip of a yokai. I knew where the growling had been coming from. This guy was a Primal. Had it been him I saw the day before?

My blood had run cold at seeing the Primal and I couldn't move. It was hard to even breathe. During my terror, I started to unconsciously distinguish any characteristics of the Primal in front of me. Shaggy, golden brown hair hung down to the Primal's shoulders where they met his neck in a sort of wild way. Fitting. The Primal sported a very nice tan as well as a sculpted form. He wasn't overly muscled, but they were pronounced on his lean body. And when I stared into his eyes… it was like time had stopped. It was as if his eyes had decided to make their own version of the color blue, breaking all laws. Flecks of silver swam dangerously in those blue depths, and as they caught what little light the moon offered, they seemed to glow. A pair of furry black ears rested on his golden head and a bushy black tail with a white underside swished behind him, erect with wariness. He was a wolf, an okami. And all he was wearing was a raggedy pair of pants, torn and ripped.

The goddesses had taken a little more time when making him. It was like they poured the very essence of beauty, masculinity, and wildness into a mold on this earth. He was like a walking divine. A _dangerous _walking divine. I had almost forgotten this.

Lost in my musings, I never noticed how the Primal had come closer to me. I could practically touch him if I tried. That's how close he had gotten. So close that I could feel his breath fanning my face. He came even closer. I watched nervously as the Primal grabbed some strands of my long, white hair and brought them to his nose. He inhaled deeply as he let them slip through his clawed fingers.

The Primal got bolder, leaning in close to my face. I clenched my eyes shut in fear as he began sniffing all around me. My face, some more of my hair, and my shoulders were all victims of his nose, but when he got to my neck, I panicked, thinking he was about to maul me. With a yelp, I launched myself upwards and high into a tree. My arms and legs wrapped around a small branch while the rest of me trembled.

Looking down, I saw the Primal under me staring up at my scared form, my locket hanging in his left hand. A loud cracking sound surprised me, and I turned to look at the branch I was hanging onto. It couldn't have been wider than my arm and could probably only hold a few fat squirrels rather than a full grown kitsune. And so as suspected, I fell.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself to hit the ground and be torn to shreds by the Primal, but it never came. Instead, I felt warmth wrap around me in a protective embrace. It was nice and whatever was wrapped around me felt strong; supportive. Opening my eyes, I looked up and saw the Primal looking down at me, his eyes laced with concern. His arms were the warmth that was wrapped around me; the strong sense of security. He was the one who had caught me. Why?

The supposed Primal accessed me for what I assumed was damage. With a nod and a grunt, the yokai stood up with me in his arms and started walking. A blush spread across my cheeks as he carried me bridal style. Mustering up my courage, I tapped my captor's arm. Maybe I could try reasoning with him. "U-Um… c-can you put m-me down?" I stuttered.

I was completely ignored. I huffed but settled down in the okami's arms. Hey, at least he wasn't (hopefully) going to kill me. Hikari's words from the day prior suddenly came to mind. _"Misaki, you're a pretty girl and there are desperate people out there that will do anything to get what they want…" _I prayed to the goddesses that this was not that situation. How would I know if it was?!

As the okami continued on, I began to notice how few in numbers the trees had become. Pretty soon, we had exited the forest all together and a sight for sore eyes came into the view. The mansion! The okami Primal had… brought me back? Why?

Rusl, Uli, Colin, Sheik, and Hikari were all standing outside, waiting. Hikari's crying face turned into one of happiness as she spotted me. "Misaki!" she cried, running up to me. The Primal didn't even flinch. The other's approached with more caution.

"Thank you for bringing back our friend, Link," Uli thanked the Primal.

The Primal, Link, nodded. "Found her on territory… chasing a monkey. Didn't know what to think," he spoke, his voice like music to my ears. His sentences were a little rough and slow, but I could understand him fine.

Rusl smiled lightly. "We understand, Link. We'll be more careful next time, right Misaki?"

All I could do was nod dumbly. Sheik positioned himself in front of Link, his arms outstretched. "I'll take her off your hands now, Link."

Link's grip on me suddenly tightened tremendously and he took a step back, shaking his head. But, seeming to think twice, he placed me back on my feet, taking another step back. Digging into his pocket, Link held something out to me, his face turned away from me, a slight pink on his cheeks. Confused, I held out my hand and watched as he placed something in my hand. My locket!

I stared up at Link, tears at the corners of my eyes. I looked down and brought my locket to my heart. "Thank you," I whispered. "I…" I was stopped when two rough hands grabbed my cheeks. I looked up to see what Link was doing. He brought his face towards mine, and for a moment, I thought he might kiss me. Instead he brought his forehead to mine briefly before running back into the woods at an incredible pace. When he was gone, I voiced my question. "Is he a Primal?"

"Seemingly so," Rusl voiced from behind me. "He's strange."

"Yes, he is," his wife agreed. "That boy seems wild, yet he holds onto some of his humanity. It probably wouldn't take much for him to snap." There was a pregnant pause. "What was he doing to Misaki, darling?" Uli asked.

Another pause. "I don't know."

None of us knew. None of us had ever encountered someone like him before. Link was an anomaly. "He's borderline primal."

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><p><strong>That's the end of a super long chapter. One of the longest I have ever typed. I was in the zone!<strong>

**I hope you guys enjoyed. If you have any questions or if you're confused by something, don't hesitate to PM me. Oh, and word to the wise about we authors. We live off your reviews, so even though you follow and favorite, don't forget to review. You can do that too, the system will allow it! Yay!**

**Speaking of which… please rate and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another chapter, another day. I know I should really be working on Thievery, but I have so much inspiration for this one!... I hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the butt.**

**Anyway, let's get started. I don't own Zelda! Enjoy!**

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><p><em>They had betrayed me! All of them! <em>

_I ran faster and faster as the hounds of Hell gained on me. The Hylian police had betrayed me, or at least the commissioner had. Who knew he was a yokai hater? He had called the cult, and now I was being pursued._

_"Filthy beast!" a voice snarled from behind me._

_I spared a glance behind me and saw the dogs getting closer and closer. It wouldn't be long before I was caught! I needed to get away! _**Flee, flee, flee! Hide, hide, hide!** _my inner fox coaxed. _**Attack, attack, attack! Defend, defend, defend!** _ It was very indecisive today._

_Finally making a decision, I sprung up into a tree and his amongst the branches, hoping the Hylians and whatever else was chasing me were too stupid to realize where I was. The dogs sniffed around under my tree, searching for my scent. Luckily, I was downwind._

_Then, like a stroke of bad luck, the direction of the wind changed and the dogs lifted their noses to the sky. Loud growls filled the air before the barking commenced. They had caught my scent!_

_"There, there!" someone shouted. "In the tree!"_

_I wasted no time in leaping to the next tree, then to the tree after that, and so forth. Thundering sounds echoed all around as bullets whizzed by me. I had no time to think; only time to act. However, because of that, I missed the next tree and fell into the frigid waters of a stream. At least my scent will be washed away… hopefully._

_Continuing my escape, I darted out of the stream and through the trees. The baying of the hounds were softer than before. Had I outran them? Nope. Without any warning, a hound leapt out in front of me, snarling and gnashing. I screamed in pain as it latched itself on my leg. _

_I fought through the pain searing through my leg. My eyes flashed and I threw my arm at the dog, my palm landing firmly on his back. "Kitsunebi!" I shouted. Green-blue fire leapt at the dog from, seemingly, my palm, scorching and burning. The dog detached itself from my leg and yelped, running away with its tail between its legs._

_I didn't have time to stop and think about the immense pain shooting through me. The only thing I could do was keep running and fight through the pain. I ran and ran, but I couldn't run anymore. It wasn't from being tired, but more like from the gorge in front of me with no bridge in front of me. I was trapped!_

_"Well, well, well," a voice said from behind. "Look what we have here. Little kitsune kit come to play!"_

_I turned around and froze. The man I had scratched only a few days prior! I was doomed! Unless… I looked back at the gorge. It was my only chance! _

_Without much thought, I ran for the gorge and jumped._

_I waited for the feeling of the plummeting drop, but it never came. It felt like I was flying rather than falling. Opening my eyes, I gasped. I was flying! I looked up, gasping again. I was in the arms of another yokai, a tengu! I was safe…_

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><p>I shot up in my bed for the third time this week, panting. What was with all these dreams lately? So many dreams, memories, were arising from my past. Many of them unwanted.<p>

I looked to my clock and saw how early it was. I still had another hour or two until I had to leave. Was this going to happen every day? Another thought suddenly came to mind. _Link. _I had never met someone quite like him. Was there any other people like him? The internet would have the answer.

With a new mission in mind, I got up and began searching the world wide web. Ten minutes later, I came up empty handed. Nothing showed up. I sighed. Perhaps I could ask Link himself… if I could find him later.

I started to get ready, dressing in some work clothes and pulling my white locks up into a messy ponytail. It was time to leave, at least I was going to. Scribbling down a quick note for Hikari, I taped it to the outside of my apartment, locked the door, and headed for the mansion. She could find her own means of transportation for today.

As I exited the apartment complex, I could see a few kids who had bothered to get up early at the park across the road. They were in a big circle, hands connected as they walked around a single child at the center of the circle whose eyes were closed tightly. They were playing _Kagome, Kagome._

"Kagome, Kagome… Kago no naka no tori wa… Itsu itsu deyaru… Yoake no ban ni… Tsuru to kame ga subetta… Ushiro no shoumen daree…" the children sang.

The game was about an ogre, the oni. This was the child in the center with his eyes closed. The other children would walk in circles around the oni, singing. When the song ended, the oni had to name the person behind him. The game was originally a ceremony used to pick out people who possessed a holiness about them. I had no idea if it still worked.

I was drawn back into the game when the oni, a little squirrel yokai began talking. "Um, is it Suzu behind me?" he asked.

"Wrong!" the children shouted happily. The game began again, the squirrel yokai still in the center. He might be there for a while.

I smiled before climbing into my car. It had been awhile since I had played _Kagome, Kagome. _I had to have been a kit. I shook my head and started the car, speeding off towards the mansion.

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><p>No one was here… no one. I glanced down at my watch. It was still a little early, but surely there would be a few people here trying to get an early start. Were we given the day off? Did I mix up my work schedule?<p>

With no one around to ask, I decided it was pointless. If no one else was going to show up for work, then neither was I… but it'd be a shame to leave now. Getting an idea, I searched through some of the bags in the backseat before finding my sketchbook and a pencil. Maybe I would go down to the pond and draw… yeah, that's what I'd do.

With a new objective, I walked down to the pond at the edge of the forest and sat down on its grassy banks. It was so beautiful! Bushes of cattails clung to edges of the pond and large stones lay scattered all around, some around the pond and some in it. Sweet smelling water lilies floated gently on top of the bluish water. A small, small waterfall lay nestled in the back, letting clean water circulate.

Immediately opening my sketchbook, I set to work at capturing the image before me. My pencil strokes varied from short to long, from light to heavy. I used all kinds of techniques. Soon, half an hour had passed and I was still going. I only ceased my drawing when an apple suddenly fell into my lap.

"What?" I questioned, jumping, frightened. Where had that come from? I lifted the apple from my lap and glanced up. My eyes widened in surprise as the supposed Primal, Link, came into view. I regained my composure and smiled. "Thank you, Link," I smiled, taking a bite of the red apple. "What brings you by?"

Link stared at me, his expression blank. "Saw you," he answered, short and sweet.

My grin widened. "So you came to keep me company? How thoughtful." My hand found its way to the locket around my neck. I hadn't taken it off since Link had returned it. He looked pleased by this.

With a grunt, the okami jumped into an overhanging oak tree, laying across one of the branches. He stared down at my drawing, his eyes full of curiosity. He seemed to like looking at the mirrored image on the paper.

"What do you think?" I asked. "Do you like it?"

Link nodded. "It's," he paused, trying to search his mind for the right word, "nice." He somewhat smiled down at me, but in reality, it was more of a smirk.

"Aww, you guys are so cute together!" a voice squealed.

Turning my head to the sound of the voice, I jerked backwards and yelped as I came nose to nose with a girl. She was far too close for comfort. Link jumped from the tree and landed in front of me in a defensive stance, hiding me from the girl.

"Don't be like that, Wolfy! I won't bite, but I will sing!" the girl said, brushing her blue, almost translucent, hair over her shoulder. It looked like water. The girl's eyes were a deep blue and her skin was nice and tanned. Blue, silken robes cascaded down her body like a waterfall, the ends fading to a white color, much like her hair did. Instead of ears, the girl had two webbed fins on the side of her head. Was she a siren?

The girl lifted her head to the sky, a hand over her collarbone. She inhaled deeply and… "Wait!" I shouted. "Don't sing!"

The girl looked appalled. "Why not?" she asked.

I looked her over one last time and decided that she was, in fact, a siren. "You could send him to his grave. Any man to hear a siren's song is sure to be met with a terrible fate," I explained.

The siren looked at me, confused, before realization made her gasp. "Oh, yeah!" she shouted. "That could have been bad… for him, I mean. Thanks for stopping me!" She seemed a little… airheaded and scatterbrained.

"Yeah…" We all stayed in an awkward silence, Link still on guard. I touched his shoulder gently and watched as he calmed. "So… who are you?" I asked the siren.

She looked around and then pointed to herself. "Who? Me? Oh, right! I'm Kaji Mizu!"

I made a face. _Really? Kaji Mizu? Uncontrolled fire water? Weird…_ "Uh, neat name," I thought out my words carefully. "I'm Misaki Tsuki. And he's Link." Link nodded at his name.

"Well, it's nice to meet you two lovebirds!" Kaji smiled.

A red blush erupted across my face. "Wha—No, we're not—I'm not…ugh," I yammered.

Kaji laughed, holding up her hands. "Alright, alright! I get it, I get it!" she said.

"So uh, what's a siren doing in a pond?" I finally asked.

Kaji smiled. "I was actually on my way to some friends of mine. Rusl and Uli are their names. Besides good business owners, they're also diplomats. Trouble as revealed its ugly head at the Great Bay. People have openly started to hunt yokai and other creatures, claiming they're monsters and murderers. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

"That's awful!" I exclaimed. Link glanced at my worried form and gave a low growl. What was wrong with him? "All of those people…" My words trailed off. "Rusl and Uli are actually my bosses. They're very nice people, and I can see why they'd be diplomats."

"Yes, well…"

"AHH!" a scream of pure terror ripped through the air, cutting off Kaji.

My ears perked up at the shrill scream, as did Link's. The high pitch of the voice sounded like it belonged to an adolescent, and by the way Link's eyes suddenly widened, I could tell he knew who it was. I turned quickly to the siren. "Go get the Rusl and Uli! If they're not at the mansion up the hill, they will be in a small apartment complex about five minutes that way!" I pointed. "A neko and a tengu might be with them!"

"Right!" Kaji shouted before running off.

Link grabbed my hand and pulled me along, running as fast as he could. He was still a little faster than me, so without much debate, he yanked me up onto his back. His hands found the spot under my knees, his grip firm. My arms were wrapped around his shoulders tightly.

The pace began to pick up as Link darted through the forest. He had been holding back when I was running beside him. We were just a blur, and soon we were leaping through the trees at a breakneck pace. Link was amazing.

Link skidded to a stop as we came into a clearing facing a huge cliff. A guy dressed in black leather stood at the edge, looking down at something. I slid off of Link's back and he growled at the man low and deep. He was becoming very hostile.

The strange man, having heard Link's growling, turned to face us. His eyes widened significantly. "Wha.. who?" he mumbled. With a gulp, he started over. "You have to help me!" he suddenly panicked. "Some crazy siren just came out of nowhere and pushed this child over the edge! I can't reach him!"

Something didn't seem right about this… The man in question was being very shifty… Nevertheless, I ran up to the edge of the cliff and peered over. I looked down in horror. "Colin!" The small, blonde boy was hanging onto a root protruding from the cliff side for dear life. His forehead was shining with sweat and his knuckles were white from his grip. I could see trails of blood coming from his palms, and the rest of him was just a scratched up.

As I called his name for a second time, Colin opened his eyes and looked up. "Misaki?! W-What are you doing here!" his voice trembled. "Y-You have to get out of h-here! That man did this!"

I knew that man was being suspicious! But before I could act, I felt myself being shoved hard and I flipped over the side. Acting on instinct, I grabbed onto the root Colin hung from with my hands. The weight caused the branch to loosen! Both Colin and I screamed.

A loud snarl from above made me remember that Link was up there. He must be fighting the Hylian. Looking over to Colin, I snaked two of my tails around his waist and grasped him tightly. My tails were strong; they'd keep him from falling.

"Colin," I spoke gently. "I need you to let go of the branch."

"I-I can't!" he protested.

"Yes, you can. You're fine. I've got you."

The boy took in a deep breath, and I mean a huge breath, before slowly letting go of the branch. My tails immediately caught him and brought him closer. His arm wrapped around my waist and the two tails around him wrapped around me as well, securing him to me.

"Okay, good," I breathed shakily.

The root sagged again, quickly becoming looser in the cliff. It would soon fall, and us with it. I looked around for any means of escape. The only thing I could see was a small ledge that was only big enough to be a handhold. It would have to do.

I started to lightly swing, the root shaking each time. I started to count in my head. _One, two, three… _"Ah!" At the last second, the root suddenly broke free just as I flung myself to the handhold. I barely grabbed it with both hands. I grunted in pain at the cuts forming on my hands and the broken bits of roots and chips of rock digging under my nails. I strained to hold on.

The sounds of the fight stopped, the air growing silent as one final yell was made. What happened?! Who won?! I prayed to the goddesses that Link wasn't dead.

My prayers were answered!

Link's golden head popped out from behind the edge and searched for us with frantic, worried eyes. When he saw us, his clawed hand shot down from above towards us. The remaining three tails of mine wrapped around Colin, joining the other two, and slowly lifted him up towards the outstretched hand. Colin's hand joined with Link's and he was hoisted up rather quickly, my tails dropping behind me.

The hand shot out again, and I grabbed it just in time to feel the handhold break away. Talk about close. I was pulled up and into a strong, bare chest. A strong blush swept over me and only intensified when Link buried his nose in my hair. Colin stared at us from the ground, confused.

I pushed Link away by the shoulders and watched as his wolf-like ears drooped. He looked down at me with large blue-silver eyes and let a whimper escape from his throat. I sighed and placed a hand on Link's bicep. I broke away from Link, not noticing the devilish look he was giving me. As I went to grab Colin's hand, I felt a strong grip on one of my tails as it was pulled.

Letting out a loud squeak, my blush burning, I turned around swiftly. I faced Link and his smug face. He looked like the cat who caught the canary. Without another word, I whipped around and led Colin away. Link followed, chuckling quietly to himself.

I had to hide the intensity of my red colored face from Colin. He wanted to ask what had happened, I could see it on his face. He was curious.

Only one thing was going through my mind. _I can't let him figure out that Link just did the equivalent of goosing me!_

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><p>It was chaos when we arrived back at the mansion. We were all met outside by both Sheik and Hikari. "We were just about to come look for you," Sheik explained.<p>

Hikari only had enough time to shout, "Oh, my Din! I was so worried! Are you okay?!" before we were rushed to the cars.

"What's going on?" I asked, settling into the driver's seat of my car. Even Link filed into the back, almost amazed by the car. He must have forgotten about them.

Hikari only motioned for me to start driving as Sheik started to explain from the backseat. "The news about Colin sent Uli into an early labor due to the stress. They're all at the apartments and they can't get to the hospital because of a huge wreck on the only road to the hospital. Kaji is doing all she can to relieve the pain and delay the delivery."

"What?!" I shouted, causing everyone with furry ears to flatten them to their heads. "No time to lose then!" I practically stomped on the gas, increasing are speed. We arrived in record time with no tickets. I flung myself out of the car and up into the apartment complex. I avoided the elevator and rushed up the stair to the third and top floor.

Time was of the essence.

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><p><strong>That's the end of that. Stressful, right?<strong> **Don't worry, Misaki to the rescue!**

**By the way guys! I have a contest going on for my other story Isle of Shifters, if you didn't know. You guys should totally participate… and read my other stories.**

**Translation: **

**Kagome, Kagome: Kagome kagome… The bird in the basket/cage… When, oh when will it come out… In the night of dawn… The crane and turtle slipped… Who is behind you now?**

**That is the most common translation.**

**If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask.**

**Please rate and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Another chapter about to start…**

**Crowd: Shut up and start!**

**O_O What's gotten into you guys?!**

**Link: You left them in a tight spot.**

**…What just because Uli is having a stress induced labor… yeah, I can see your points. Okay, I'll start. **

**I do not own Zelda. Enjoy… or else! This chapter as a live birth in it. I'll try to spare the more gory details. By the way, I don't know much about child birth, so don't blame me if something is wrong.**

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><p>I bounded up the stairwell, skipping three steps at a time as I went. It wouldn't be much longer. I finally arrived on the third floor and sprinted out of the stairwell and down the hall to my bosses' apartment. I pounded on the door, awaiting an answer.<p>

The door swung open quickly revealing a tired and worried Rusl. "Oh, thank the Goddesses! Please come in!" he urged frantically. I was rushed into the apartment. "Where's Colin?!"

"He's coming up with the others. He's fine. Now where's Uli?" I spoke tiredly, trying to control my breathing.

Rusl inhaled deeply and pointed down the hall. I wasted no time in going down to their bedroom. The sound of screaming and painful grunts reverberated from the room I approached. I was almost apprehensive about entering. I calmed myself further and walked in.

The strong smell of sweat and other fluids excreted during labor hit my nose hard. Uli lay on the bed, her legs bent, her body heaving with each breath she took. Her soft, blonde locks were plastered to her forehead and her eyes were shut tightly.

"Oh, Uli," I uttered.

Said woman opened her eyes and looked at me. She smiled weakly. "Misaki…" she rasped. "Is Colin okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. The others are coming up with him."

Uli sighed. "Good. That's a relief off my mind and body."

"No kidding," I said, walking into the adjoining bathroom. I turned the water on and washed my hands under the hottest water I could get without burning off my skin. My skin needed to be sterilized with what I was about to do.

I searched through the cabinets and retrieved some towels. I exited the bathroom quickly and knelt down by Uli. "Where you planning to go to the hospital in the first place?" I asked her.

She shook her head tiredly just before another contraction hit. "N-No… I was going to have a… midwife deliver the baby. But I wasn't due for… another two or three weeks and she was away. And we can't get to… the hospital!" she panted.

"Shh, it's okay. I can help you," I soothed. "But you have to let me. Okay."

Uli nodded, relief flashing over her face. "Okay."

I smiled. I looked up at Kaji who was on the other side of Uli, trying to ease her pain. "I need a lot of ice, hot water, and rubbing alcohol… a knife too." Kaji nodded enthusiastically and ran off.

As soon as Kaji and her magic left, Uli's pain obviously intensified. "Oh, goddesses!" she cried. Her face scrunched up in pain, and Uli fisted the sheets tightly in her hands. "Please hurry!"

I pulled down the blankets covering Uli, exposing her lower half to the air. I placed my hands gently on her belly, trying to track where the baby was. It was already very low, almost past the pelvic bone. I moved to stand at the foot of the bed, gasping as I saw red. There was blood spotting the sheets. There had been some tearing. No wonder it was hurting so bad… I couldn't let Uli know… she'd freak.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself. Just as I was about to start, Kaji returned with the much needed items. "Okay, Uli, you've done this before. You can do it again. When I say push, you push. You can do that, huh?" She nodded. "Good." I turned to Kaji and motioned her closer. "Hold her hand and talk her through it, distract her."

Kaji did as she was told. "Okay, um so how 'bout them… I don't know any sports teams." Uli and I both laughed. "Seriously though… um, do you know if it's a boy or girl?"

The blonde woman shook her head. "Didn't… want to… know," she winced. "Surprise."

"Uli, I need you take a deep breath and push hard… now!" The woman pushed, crying out in pain, as Kaji coaxed her through it. "Good, okay. One, two, three… push!" And again.

This continued on for what seemed like forever. Uli pushing and straining while Kaji urged her on, and I helped guide the baby. Soon, its head started to emerge, then the shoulders. "That's it, Uli! You can do it! Just one more push!"

She panted heavily. "I'm so tired."

"I know, but you can't give up now! We're almost there!" I persisted. With a nod, Uli screamed, pushing with all her might. The baby was out! I rubbed down its body, stimulating it, and rubbed down the nose to clear away the amniotic fluids trapped there. Loud cries suddenly pierced the air.

With a smile, I soaked one of the towels down and began cleaning the baby, noticing very distinct features. Clean, I wrapped the baby in a dry towel before I began to cut off the circulation to the umbilical cord. I then proceeded to snip off the most of the long cord. The rest attached to the baby would fall off eventually.

Smiling at a tired Uli, I chuckled lightly. "It's a girl!" Uli gave a big, exhausted grin. I handed the baby to her and began delivering the afterbirth (the placenta) a few moments later. I wrapped it in the contaminated towel and asked Kaji to dispose of it.

"Sure," she replied. "By the way, what was the ice for?"

I grimaced. "If things would have gotten really bad, I would have made Uli bite down on that."

Kaji let out a quiet "oh" before leaving. I turned to check the clock. We had been doing this for an hour. I stood up on shaky legs and walked to the bathroom to wash the gunk off my hands.

When I returned, Uli was sitting up, cradling the baby. "Thank you, Misaki. H-How did you know how to do that?"

"Hikari's parents are yokai that seek out other yokai who are abused and mistreated. They're like a task force. They taught both of us medical procedures and put us through training. Hikari and I have delivered our fair share of animals before, but this was a first. I don't think Hikari would have stayed conscious long enough to do anything," I explained with a laugh.

I walked over the foot of the bed and picked up the last clean towel. I proceeded to clean Uli up and cover her up again. My gaze moved the red spotting the sheets. She'd need _professional _medical attention.

"Are you ready for visitors?" She gave me a nod, and I proceeded to the door, exiting the room. As I left, I was suddenly bombarded by many people. Namely Rusl, Colin, Hikari, and Sheik. Link was off to the side, trying to not look worried.

"Well?!" Hikari demanded of me.

"It was a girl. Everything looks fine, but I'm going to see if the hospital can send an ambulance now. Hopefully the roads are clear now." I did just that. And after a five minute conversation with the front desk to the hospital, they were on their way.

An unexpected hand on my shoulder made me jump. It was Rusl. "Thank you, Misaki. You saved both my wife's and my daughter's lives. I owe you mine. You truly are a girl of many talents."

I shook my head. "I was just doing what I could. Let's just leave it at that," I said. Rusl admitted defeat and retreated into his bedroom to meet the new member of his family. I walked over to a chair and slumped down into it. I was exhausted as well.

"Okay?"

I looked up. Link was looking down at me. He had a look of concern on his face. Kneeling, he brought my hands to his nose and sniffed, smelling traces of whatever was left on my hands. He seemed to understand the situation.

I smiled at the okami. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…" I was interrupted by a yawn, "tired."

"Go sleep," Link told me.

I pondered the idea for a few moments. "You know what?" I stood up. "I think I will." Turning to Hikari, who was leaning in Uli's and Rusl's bedroom doorway, I addressed her. "Will you congratulate them for me. I've worn myself out. I wouldn't be surprised if I sleep for a week."

Hikari gave me a thumbs up, winking. "No problem. Don't hibernate to long."

Freezing, on my way to the door, I huffed. "Foxes don't hibernate. We just occasionally sleep for a while to store energy. That's all. I thought you knew this."

Hikari gave me a dumbfounded look. "I was joking, Misaki. Geez!"

My eyes widened. I had did it again. I took things too literally, showing my naivety. I sighed. "Right. Sorry. I took it wrong. I get it now, though. Anyway, goodnight." I left without waiting for a reply.

Heading for the stairwell once again, I started the trek back to the second floor where employee apartments mainly were. My footsteps echoed in the empty hallway as I walked to my room, digging in my pockets for my keys.

_Key, oh key. Where are you, my key? It's you that I need, _I thought to myself, rhyming as I did. _There you are key!_ I pulled out the brass key just as I got to my room. Sliding it into the lock, my door opened with a _click. _

I retreated into my apartment, locking the door behind me. With a yawn, I headed for the bathroom, determined to wash the day's events off of my skin. It had definitely been long and eventful.

I turned on the shower and got in. I let the steamy water cleanse my skin and I let my brain wander. I hadn't seen the man who pushed Colin over the edge when Link pulled us up. Did Link chase him off? Why did he blame Kaji, assuming that's the siren he was talking about, for doing it? Is he trying to get yokai and other creatures put on the public enemy list?

I turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a white, fluffy towel from the wrack. I wrapped it around my body and walked to the mirror. With my hand, I wiped the steam from the reflective surface and stared at my reflection. To me, I looked strange. I looked… tense.

Sighing, I walked to the door. My hand was just about to turn the doorknob when I heard a crashing sound come from adjoining bedroom. Was there a burglar? If there was, they chose the wrong person on the wrong day to steal from!

Cautiously, I exited the bathroom and crept into my room. My eyes darted to and fro, looking for any sign of the culprit. I saw the lap from my vanity knocked over and I tensed. My body was swimming in a sea of adrenaline, and I was ready for anything… except for…

I jumped when a hand touched my shoulder. With a yelp, I spun around, grabbing for my towel as it fell. I caught it just in time as my crimson eyes met silvery-blue. "Link!" I snapped, scared out of my wits.

The okami in question chuckled, seeing my scared expression. With a nod of his head, he began to look around my room, which is what I assumed he had been doing before. He saw the knocked over lamp and picked it up, putting it back on the vanity. He left the room and started to wander around the rest of the apartment. Naturally, I followed, clutching my towel tight.

Link started to access everything in my apartment, mainly all of the windows and the front door. Each time he found something he didn't like he would growl and shake his head. When he liked it, a happy rumble would sound from his lips and there would be a nod of his head. What a strange yokai. What was he doing exactly?

He went back into my room and towards the…_open _window. So that's how the sneaky wolf got in! Speaking of which, what was he doing here?

I caught up with Link and grabbed his bare shoulder, making him turn. He looked at me with expectant eyes. "What are you doing here?" I asked him.

He looked away, refusing to answer. And that infuriated me! I knew he could talk somewhat and that he could understand me! I wanted an answer, darn it!

With an angry, red face, cheeks puffed out, I grabbed Link's face with one of my hands and forced him to look at me. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" I said, enunciating each word. I still didn't get an answer. It was like he wasn't even looking at me, yet he was… more so than the average person would dare. He was staring directly at me, but at what part, I didn't know.

I followed his eyes and figured out that he was looking at my exposed shoulder, his eyes glassy. Why was he looking there? He suddenly leaned in and buried his face in my shoulder. I was shocked. "Uh, Link? What are you doing?"

The okami inhaled deeply, taking in my scent. A loud rumbling echoed throughout the room, and I shivered. I didn't understand! What was going on! I wish I had paid more attention in social skills classes!

Link pulled away, smirking. His knuckles grazed over my cheek in an almost comforting manner; adoring. Breathing in deeply, still in shock, I watched as Link darted away and out through the window. What had just happened? I walked to my dresser and quickly changed into some night clothes before brushing my hair and teeth, too stunned to do much else.

I sat on the bed and mulled things over. What had just happened between us? Link was an anomaly. He appeared cold and indifferent to most people, but then he would do some sweet gesture. I didn't understand! With a frustrated groan, I crawled into bed and I was swept away to sleep.

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><p><em>It was dark and foggy. I couldn't see anything through the thick whiteness of the fog. It was like one of my memories, only it wasn't. I was my current age and I had never done any of this before. Where was I? What was I doing?<em>

_Something materialized within the fog. It came closer and closer, revealing a person. The person began to take shape, dirty golden hair manifesting, intense blue eyes staring into me. "Link?" I questioned._

_He stopped a few feet away from me, freezing. "Link?" I asked again. He suddenly coughed, red flying from his lips, splattering against my face. He suddenly collapsed, hitting the ground hard. "Link!"_

_I ran towards him, but I was unable to make it as I was suddenly grabbed by the throat by a large, muscly hand. I groaned, choking on my own saliva, my body straining for air. Link's form became blurry as black spotted my vision. "L-L…ink!"_

_I died._

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><p>Bolting up in my bed, I gasped for breath. I couldn't calm the short, panicky breaths. Sweat practically poured down my forehead, my hair sticking to it. My body trembled and shivered, wracked from both nerves and the lack of oxygen.<p>

What was happening to me? Why were both memories of the past and nightmares of a horrid future tormenting my dreams? Why were the goddesses torturing me so?

I hid my face in my hands and let my tears overwhelm me. I cried and cried… never noticing the protective eyes watching over me from the window.

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><p><strong>It's done. A little tension. A little funny. A little romance. A little panic. A little of everything.<strong>

**I hope you guys are enjoying the story.**

**I have a contest going for my other story Isle of Shifters. Read the story for the rules.**

**Please rate and review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**It's time for another chapter! **

**I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. I hope you like it. Unfortunately, this won't be a very long story. So soak it up while you can.**

**Enjoy. I don't own Zelda.**

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><p>My eyes drooped heavily, as I started to fall forward. I was so tired. My arm stopped moving in its attempt to clean the fountain on the patio. I felt myself lean further and further forward until my head hit the hard stone.<p>

"Ah," I hissed in pain.

"Uh, Misaki? Are you okay?" Hikari said from over my shoulder. "You look terrible."

I grabbed my head and shook it. "No, I haven't gotten any decent sleep in a week." It had been a week since that day Link showed up at my apartment. A week since I had been having the same dream with Link dying.

"Maybe you should go home and try and take a nap."

I groaned. "As soon as I do, I'll have a nightmare and wake up."

Hikari was not taking no for an answer. With her hands on her hips, her wings puffed up in frustration, she turned to stare at a tree with a certain okami perched in it. "Link!" she shouted. It took no longer than five seconds for said yokai to arrive by our side. Hikari, pushed her black braid over her shoulder and looked pointedly at Link. "Be a good boy and take Misaki home, huh?" she asked.

Link cocked his head to the side. "Why?" he asked.

"Look at her!"

I peered at the two through parted eyelids. "Wha… I'm fine," I yawned.

Link stared down at me for a few seconds before returning his gaze to Hikari's. "I'll… take… home," he decided. Picking me up bridle-style, I dropped my rag and let him carry me. "Won't… be back." And with that he took off. I felt myself become wide awake at the unbelievable pace he set.

"Whoa!" I shouted. "Okay, put me down!"

Alarmed, Link stopped and set me on my feet. "What… wrong?" he asked.

I settled my beating heart. "N-Nothing," I stuttered. "I just got scared at how fast we suddenly started going." I started to walk away, Link following. In that short amount of time, we had gotten surprisingly far. Link sure was fast. That got me thinking. "Hey, Link? Just how old are you? Even though you're surprisingly comfortable with all of this modern stuff, you're too powerful to be a young yokai of this day and age."

Link continued to walk beside me, his hand on his chin. "Hmm, been a long time. Maybe… three hundred… no… four hundred twenty five."

I'm sure that if I was drinking something, I would have just pulled a spit take. "T-That old?! Man, you must be one powerful yokai."

We started to walk by some houses when this dog came up to the fence barking. I shrieked and launched myself onto Link's back. "Okay?" he asked me.

Once the dog got bored and went away, I relaxed and got down. "Y-Yeah, it scared me. Sorry. Kitsune are naturally afraid of dogs and a few other canines. Only the strong aren't."

Link looked confused. "Why… you not afraid… of me?"

I thought about it. I honestly didn't know. It didn't make a lick of sense of either. Why was I scared of dogs and not Link, a relative to the dog family? I shrugged. "I have no idea."

The rest of the way back to my apartment was walked in silence. It wasn't until I saw my apartment complex that Link tried to talk. "I'll stay," he said firmly.

At this point I didn't care if he stayed or went. My bed was calling out to me. "Come sleep!" it seemed to yell. So I just nodded at Link.

Before entering the building, I looked towards the park across the street and saw the same group of children from the other day, still playing _Kagome, Kagome,_ only quite a few of them were missing. Namely, the squirrel yokai and a few other yokai as well. "Kagome, Kagome… Kago no naka no tori wa… Itsu itsu deyaru… Yoake no ban ni… Tsuru to kame ga subetta… Ushiro no shoumen daree…" the children sung happily, unaware of their missing friends. As a matter of fact, the only children left were human.

I held up a finger to Link who was persistent to get into the apartment. "I have to check on something really quick," I mentioned walking over to the kids. I bent down and tapped one on the shoulder. "Excuse me? Where are your yokai friends?"

As soon as I asked the question, lively eyes suddenly became blank. "We don't know what you're talking about? It has only been us," one of the children said mechanically. It was like they were under a spell.

"Are you sure?" I inquired again.

Their eyes continued to stare at me blankly. "Yes." I looked deep into one of the children's eyes and noticed the lack of the colored ring that surrounded the pupil and was deep set in the iris. It was like it wasn't there at all.

Suddenly, I felt dizzy and swayed to the side. Before I could hit the ground, strong arms caught me. "You should sleep," Link said from above me. I nodded at Link dumbly and let him carry me up to my apartment, only it was in an unconventional way. Through the window that was still open, due to my forgetfulness.

Once in my apartment, Link walked over to my bed and set me gently on its surface, pulling back the comforter and draping it over me. As I settled into the soft mattress, Link looked at me expectantly. "What?" I asked him. He continued to stare at me, and if it wasn't for that quick glance to the bed, I wouldn't have figured out what he would have wanted. I rolled my eyes and scooted over, finding nothing wrong with the situation. "Get in," I sighed. "But no funny business and you stay on top of the covers."

I saw the corners of Link's mouth quirk a bit before he laid down beside me. He sighed in content, letting the soft surface of the mattress cushion his battle-scarred body. We faced each other for a few moments before I turned on my side. And I was actually drifting off to sleep when I felt an arm snake its way around my waist. I turned my head to reprimand Link, but he was already asleep. He was more tired than I was.

Letting it slide, I turned completely back over and closed my eyes. I let myself be lulled into sleep by the steady sound of Link's breathing. And for once, I slept without dreaming.

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><p>Reluctantly, I stirred, something feeling off. With bleary eyes, I stared at the digital face of my alarm clock. 3:06 a.m. What had awoken me?<p>

Link was still asleep beside me, and I just knew, by the way dirt was slipping off his body and the tattered pants at his hips, that I'd have to wash these sheets and the comforter. I slipped out from under said man's arm and stretched beside the bed. When my back gave a satisfying pop, I sighed.

I stared down at the sleeping okami. He looked so different when asleep; innocent and child-like. _He's kind of… cute… whoa. I did not just think that. _Shaking my head, I grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed and covered Link with it. I'd let him sleep a little longer while I would take a shower. I looked down at myself. _Nayru knows I need it._

I walked to the bathroom and turned on the water to the shower. I stepped in the warm spray after shedding my clothes and immediately felt relief. I didn't relax for long, especially not while I had a curious okami in the other room. Knowing him, he probably woke up from the sound of the water turning on.

I began shampooing my hair, careful of my ears, and then my tails. I paid extra care to them, taking pride in how they would shine once clean. I added small drops of conditioner, just to make sure I was guaranteed of a lack of tangles. Rinsing, I quickly washed the rest of myself before turning off the water and stepping out.

I wrapped a towel around myself and looked to where I usually placed my close. Instantly, I cursed myself… well, that is if I even swore in the first place, but nevertheless, I had forgotten to get clothes out and now had to travel back into my bedroom for them. I thought about it for a moment. Link had already seen me in nothing but a towel before, but I didn't want a repeat of that.

Steeling myself for the next few minutes that had yet to come, I cracked the door open and looked around. I couldn't see Link, but I did see my dresser. I had one shot at this. Darting out of the bathroom, I reached my dresser and yanked its drawers open. I quickly grabbed a pair of old jeans and a green wife beater, plus my undergarments. Then, faster than you can say "tricky trickster kitsune," I was back in the bathroom, clothes in hand.

I quickly dressed myself, threading my many tails through my jeans, making sure they weren't being pinched. Dressed, I grabbed my brush and started to brush my hair and fur as I walked out of the bathroom. Link still wasn't anywhere in sight. Strange… did he leave? With a shrug, I finished getting ready, loaded my sheets and blanket into the washer and headed to work.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Misaki!"<p>

I turned to face where the voice came from, stopping my work on the staircase. Some idiot covered beautiful cherry wood posts with paneling! They were simple, yet ornate at the same time. It gave the area a feel of sophistication.

The guy running up to me was one of the construction workers, a young one at that, probably only a few years older than me. Twenty-four at the most and a seemingly nice Hylian. Unfortunately, he was a bit of a flirt.

"Misaki!" the guy yelled.

I put on a sugary sweet smile. "Hello, Ethan. What's up?" I greeted him.

Ethan ran a tanned hand through blonde locks, green eyes shining with delight. "Well, some of us are going out for drinks later and I wanted to know if you wanted to come."

"Can Hikari come?" I asked.

"Sure."

I turned to the sparrow doing detailing to the wood grain. "Hey, do you want to go out for drinks?"

"I would love to, but I can't. Sheik asked me out on a date," she replied smugly.

I was flabbergasted. "Already?!"

Hikari smirked, chuckling lightly. "Yup, I'm just that good."

I rolled my eyes and turned to tell Ethan I couldn't come. I wasn't comfortable around him, but before I could, he smiled and started to talk. "Okay, then. So I'll see you at eight. Bye!" And with that he left.

I sighed. _Oh, well. One or two drinks won't hurt. _

The rest of work flew by, and I soon found myself getting ready for my—was this a date? I shook my head. It didn't matter. I wasn't interested anyway. I'd just go to amuse him. So I found myself leaving work to go get ready for my "date."

I dressed in a pair of black slacks and a dark blue peasant blouse with some flats. I pulled my hair up into a low ponytail, but I didn't bother to put on any makeup. I wasn't going to be that dolled up.

It was around seven-thirty when I left the apartment and I arrived at the local bar at seven-fifty. Ethan was already here… alone… by himself… no one else from work here. Where were the others? Mustering the will power to enter that room, I walked over to the Hylian. "Hi, Ethan," I said, a little shy.

He perked up instantly. "Misaki! I-I was afraid you wouldn't show!" he replied, almost nervously. What was up with him?

"I'm ten minutes early, Ethan," I raised an eyebrow.

Ethan gulped and pulled on his shirt sleeve, glancing at his watch. "So you are! G-Good!" He paused. "Y-You look great!"

I looked around before sitting down on a barstool. "Uh, yeah. Y-You too."

We sat in an awkward silence until Ethan called the bartender over. He ordered some whiskey while I said, "I'll take a water."

Ethan sat dumbfounded. "Nonsense! Whiskey is water… healing water!" He turned back to the bartender. "She'll have whiskey too."

I shook my head. "I'm really fine with water. I don't really drink much in public." It was true. When kitsune got a little too drunk, we tended to lose ourselves, letting our human forms slip. We became really truthful as well… and the last thing anyone needed to hear was how I really thought. Ethan didn't need to know what a creep he was being… nah.

The bartender returned with two… _two!..._ bottles of whiskey. Ethan handed over the money and a fairly nice tip. He grabbed the two shot glasses and poured a generous amount of alcohol into them. "Cheers!" he smiled, rising his glass.

Reluctantly, I grabbed my own glass and raised it. Swigging down the whiskey, the amber liquid burning my throat as it poured down, I felt a warmth spread through me. And the next thing I knew, I was six more shots into the whiskey bottle. Then I was halfway. It was like I couldn't stop. It was strange; alcohol had never been this addicting. Was this really whiskey… or something else? Of course, at the moment I didn't care. I was too drunk, after all.

Ethan's hand rested on my back, tracing light circles in my blouse. I tried my best not to grimace at his touch. I wanted someone else to be here with me. Someone specific… someone wild… someone on the borderline of primal. Someone like… Link! So that's who I imagined I was sitting next to, even though I hadn't seen him all day.

I yawned, feeling my human form slipping. I wanted to run and then curl up to take a nap. Ethan suddenly stood up. "How about we go somewhere else?" he suggested. I nodded dumbly, my body already morphing into that of a fox. By the time we got outside, I was on four, padded paws. Ethan laughed. "Your so cute," he smiled, but something was strange about it.

He picked me up in his arms, brushing my white fur with his fingers. He didn't bother to pick up the shredded material of my once clothes, but he continued walking instead. "Well, my sweet, we are going someplace truly fantastical. And the best part is, you'll never have to leave. You can stay there forever… just like the rest of your kind!" his voice became maniacal. "Sleep well, beast!"

I felt my eyes droop shut, my body growing tired. My tired mind never even registered the words spoken to me. I was too far gone.

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><p><strong>That's the end of that. By the way, there will be a mentioning of Hyrule Warriors in the next chapter, but not in a good way. The meaning has been changed to fit my story.<strong>

**Story…**

**That also reminds me. My poll for Isle of Shifters is up and you guys need to vote! So do that! **

**Oh, and please rate and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I shall now perform a ritual. (does spiritual dance) BAM! *a wild chapter appears***

**Anyway, like I said: New Chapter. **

**So let's get it started. I don't own Zelda. Never will too… ENJOY! **

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><p>It was cold, it was so cold… I was so cold? Why was I cold? What was this feeling, this coldness?<p>

I parted the darkness that surround me, opening my eyes to reveal my entrapment. A cell. To make matters worse… I was… regrettably, might I add, naked. Why was I naked? Covering myself up with my arms, I began to think back. And when I realized what happened, I sighed.

I'm an idiot that got captured in her fox form. Of course it had to be me. Growling as I thought of that scum bag Ethan's face, I swore to get revenge on him. But for now, I had no choice but to sit here and wallow.

In that next instant, a clatter from the next cell over drew my attention. I looked in between the bars, trying to see what had made the sound. I could see a person, or at least that's what the shadow looked like. "Hello?" I called out.

There was a light gasp. "Who's there?" the person replied. They stood up in their cell and made their way to the bars where the person was revealed to be a boy around my age. His hair was long and kind of a light lavender in color. He had curious scarlet eyes, a strange tattoo under one of them.

I covered myself a little more. "Uh, hi…" I finally replied.

The boy blushed and turned awkwardly to the side. He reached up with a slender hand and scratched the back of his head. "H-Hi," he murmured. He glanced back at me and then quickly looked away. "S-So, uh, who are you?"

"Oh, right!" I said, my eyes widening. "I'm Misaki Tsuki. I'm a kitsune."

"I've never seen a white kitsune with so many tails at such a young age," the boy muttered. "He straightened up. "I'm Vaati. I'm actually a mage from the Minish."

I was confused. I cocked my head to the side and stared at the "Minish" pointedly. "What's a Minish?" I asked.

Vaati sighed. "I imagined you'd know them as the Picori. My real form is a kind of anthropomorphic mouse no bigger than a child's thumb."

"Wow."

He nodded. "Yeah. This is just my human form. Only certain Minish can transform into one." He smirked, but that smirk quickly fell. "And because I'm a mage, I can transform into a monster…, regrettably."

"Really?" I asked incredulously. "That's amazing!... but why are you telling me all this? I'm a total stranger. And why regret that power."

Vaati shrugged. "Once I transform into that monster, I lose all thought. As for why I'm telling you all this… I don't know. I've been here for a long time, unable to communicate with anyone. So I guess I'm just happy to be able to talk with someone. My mouth has gotten away from me is all."

I nodded in understanding. Looking around and down at my body, currently covered with my tails, I blushed. "You wouldn't happen to have anything I could cover up with, do you?" I inquired.

The young Minish looked around his cell before pulling the blanket off his bed. "Here, I don't use it anyway." He slipped the material in between the bars, and I took it gratefully.

"Thanks." Reaching behind my head, I tied the blanket like a toga. I made sure the sides were fastened tight. With a sigh, I slumped into myself. "So where exactly are we?" I asked.

"We are gladiators in the Hyrule Warrior's Coliseum. We are here to fight to the death… or at least you are. The owners of the illegal fighting pit absolutely hate yokai and want to see them destroyed one way or another. This way they can get some entertainment with it," he explained.

"But you're not a yokai. How did you get involved in this?"

He shrugged. "Fraternizing with yokai, I guess. My best friend was one. I haven't seen him in a long time… I wonder if h-he died." Vaati's look became somber and sullen.

I smiled lightly. "I'm sure he's fine."

Shaking his head and clearing his mind of morbid thoughts, Vaati looked at me with great interest. "So is it true that a kitsune's true voice is so beautiful is could rival a siren's or nymph's?" At my look of confusion, he continued. "That friend told me about it?"

I was taken aback. "In some cases, yes. It works the same with everyone else. Some of us have the talent and others can't sing to save their lives."

Vaati laughed. "So what can you do? I've told you most of my abilities, and I see how many tails you have, so you must be moderately powerful."

"I suppose so, but to be honest with you, I don't get to use my powers very often, so I don't really know what I can do. I do know how to use kitsunebi, vocal manipulation, growing and shrinking objects, life paint, and I can transform into my fox form," I listed off some of my abilities off the top of my head.

"Can you use possession or shapeshifting?"

I shook my head. "Those are very hard to master. Life paint and vocal manipulation is hard enough."

"What are those exactly?" Vaati asked me, absolutely enthralled.

"Voice manipulation is the beginnings to shapeshifting. Basically, we can sound like anything. It's like a branch off of what you call our true voice except we manipulate it to sound like something or someone else. As for life paint, not a lot of kitsune choose to learn this skill anymore. With ink and sacred paper, we can draw something and have it animated or brought to life. A lot of other yokai can use this skill too. It's hard but common."

Vaati hung his head in thought, fingers holding onto his chin. He looked back up. "So where…"

"You two!" someone interrupted him. A guard was outside our cells, keys in hand. "It's time to fight."

* * *

><p>We followed the guard out into a large arena. The stands were empty except for two people in the owner's box. A large, muscled man and a tall voluptuous woman. They were enjoying what looked to be an expensive wine.<p>

Vaati and I turned in circles, examining our surroundings. The guard that brought us here had long since disappeared. "What do we do?" I whispered to Vaati.

He shook his head. "I don't know. I've never been called on to fight."

"I have," a voice spoke. "Too many times." A guy our own age emerged from the shadows, his bright, crazy, red hair like a beacon in the night. He came close enough to where I could see the blues of his eyes.

"Ralph? Ralph!" Vaati ran up to this… Ralph and hugged him tightly. Ralph returned the hug, but with more sadness. "I can't believe you're alive!" Vaati turned to me. "Misaki, this is that friend I was talking about! He's alive!"

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

Ralph shook his head. "No, it's not." He turned his head to the owner's box. The man in the box nodded his own fiery head, his yellow eyes narrowing. Ralph nodded as well. "Because of him, Ganondorf and that woman Veran," he began. I looked up at the woman, noting the blue tint to her skin and the orange hair and eyes. She wore a too revealing outfit with a strange black headdress. "I have to kill you."

Out of nowhere, Ralph struck out with sharp talon-like claws, grazing Vaati's arm. I just barely managed to pull him back in time. "Ralph! What are you doing?!" Vaati demanded.

Ralph frowned. "For the record, I'm sorry." He attacked again.

Vaati let out a mouse-like squeak, his current form suddenly disappearing only to be replaced by a smaller one. His Minish form. He still had the same hair and the same scarlet eyes, but his skin was now fur a few shades lighter than his hair. His ears grew long and a snout formed on the front of his face. A feather-like tail tipped in purple peeked out from under violet robes and a pointed dark purple hat rested on his head to complete his transformation.

He was so cute! But there was no time to think about that. Ralph began inhaling deeply, and I took this time to dive forward and scoop Vaati up, positioning him on my shoulder. A jet stream of fire suddenly shot by me, and I had to jump high into the hair to avoid it by the hair of my tails.

"A basan! A basan! You didn't tell me he was a fire-breathing basan!" I yelled at the little Minish.

The little Minish held onto my cheek and shrugged. "It didn't come up!" his squeaky voice chirped.

I continued to run in circles, dodging attack after attack. "I can't keep this up forever! I've got to attack!"

"Yes, you must attack me! I don't want to kill you, but I can't disobey them. If you want to live, attack me! Please!" Ralph cried out.

_He wants me to kill him? Why? And why can't he disobey them? _ I pondered.

"Fine!" Vaati shouted after a long moment of silence. "J-Just get it over with!"

Without any further words, I spun around, palm outstretched. "Kitsunebi!" The familiar green-blue fire shot out from my hand, burning Ralph's chest. However, it didn't seem to affect him much.

With a hiss, Ralph suddenly grew to ten times his normal size and began to morph and change shape. I watched as the hair on his head stood up into a bright red comb and his feet grow and form monstrous talons. Brightly colored feathers of blue, green, red, orange, and a luminescent white as well, sprouted from every pour on his body. A beak formed on his face. A few moments later, I gigantic rooster; a basan stood before me.

My eyes widened in horror as the basan's beak opened and fire shot from the depths of its body. "Crap!" I yelled, rolling out of the way. I got back onto my feet quickly and started to run.

"Uh, Misaki? Now would be a good time to transform into something, I don't know… huge?!" Vaati chirped into my ear.

I huffed, dodging another attack. "Trust me, Vaati… I'd love to, but… only the most adept yokai… can transform into gigantic beasts… aside from one tailed yokai who… are already at their max," I panted.

"WHAT?!" the little Minish squeaked. "How are you not powerful enough?! You have five tails!"

"It takes all nine of our tails!"

Vaati swore. It sounded quite funny coming from a mousy voice, but now was not the time. Due to my lack of focus, Ralph was able to cut deep into my stomach with his talons. I was hurled into a wall and I slid down its rough surface. I lay slumped on the ground, disoriented, as Ralph stalked closer. Lifting its head, preparing to descend with the sharp beak, I braced myself.

A huge gust of wind blew by suddenly, knocking Ralph off balance. Looking in front of me, I noticed Vaati back in his other form. Had he done that?

"Right," he said, "that's enough hiding from now on." It warmed my heart, knowing he was going to help me. Unfortunately, that warmth didn't last long. The giant rooster swung out with a wing, throwing Vaati off his feet. It proceeded to scratch at him. "Argh!" He didn't have enough time to cast any spells!

I stood up, albeit a little wobbly. I had to do something! He was going to die! Words unexpectedly appeared in my mind, almost as if riding the wind. My lips started to form the words before my brain even comprehended what was happening. "Kokoro no yūgō!"

* * *

><p><em>White surrounded me totally and utterly. "Where am I?" I questioned aloud. I spun around in circles, observing the complete nothingness around me.<em>

_A bright flash of color suddenly caught my attention. I turned and saw a little rooster looking at me with some crazy eyes. Cocking my head to the side, I started to follow it as it ran in the opposite direction. I had to jog to keep up._

_It felt like hours had passed before I finally caught up to it. It had led me to a strange panel with an ancient symbol. The rooster started to glow before its shape transformed into that of Ralph's. I tensed, preparing for an attack, but he didn't. He just stood there, staring, like he was expecting something of me. He looked at the panel, then back at me. I understood._

_Slowly, I walked up to the panel and placed my hand on the ancient symbol. It glowed bright white, and I felt myself being carried away. _

_Was I in Ralph's mind?_

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes to see the gigantic rooster frozen in its movements… no… it was just moving very slowly. However, with each passing second its movements began to speed up until it was back at normal speed.<p>

Out of nowhere, it screeched loudly in pain. I watched as the blue eyes faded to red as Ralph—or rather—the basan was lost to the madness of its mind. It started to spew fire everywhere in its fury. It had become a Primal.

I turned to run away and take cover when an unbearable pain took hold of me. It felt like molten lava was rushing through my veins, my nerves sparked with an electric current. I collapsed to the ground, completely oblivious to the basan coming my way. I curled in on myself, clutching my lower back as I felt the skin around my tailbone rip, blood splattering everywhere. I screamed, and it wasn't from the creature looming over me now.

I looked up weakly as the basan prepared to strike. I quivered and shook as a bloody, white appendage shot forth from my backside. A new tail had formed, and at a bad time too. I was completely vulnerable and weak. I had just gained a new tail and it was already the end of me. I prepared myself for my fate.

The earth started to rumble, a loud sound resonating through the air on loop. I screamed as one of the walls from the coliseum suddenly exploded outward, a huge chunk hitting the basan's crown. Blood dribbled down its feathers.

Looking over to the ruined wall, I watched, eyes wide, as a humungous black and white wolf emerged from the rumble. It's eyes, silver swimming in blue, had a red tint to them, indicating the wild nature of the beast. It feral eyes locked with the basan, narrowing. The giant okami yokai growled in rage and shot forward, it teeth gripping the bird's neck. Shaking it violently, the wolf let go, tossing it away.

Something was familiar about this okami. Despite the red rage behind them, its eyes were so familiar. Wait! I only knew one okami that would save me. "Link!"

I watched as the basan lost its form and transformed into a Primal version of Ralph, his eyes still a glowing red. The wolf transformed back as well, confirming my theory. It was Link! I almost smiled. Even though he was so close to a Primal-like state, Link was still fighting fair. That's when I realized what was about to happen.

My eyes widened and I struggled to rise from the ground, but it was too late. Link's clawed hand had already plunged itself into Ralph's belly, coming out the other side. Ralph slid easily off of Link's arm, his eyes fading back to blue.

"Ralph!" Vaati shouted, finally conscious again. He ran up to the fallen basan, ignoring Link's warning growl.

Link was about to attack Vaati when I yelled, "No! It's okay! He's a friend, Link" I attempted to rise, crying out in pain and falling back to the ground when it got too hard. Link was beside me in an instant. His eyes still had a hint of red to them, but I knew it was okay.

Picking me up gently in his arms, Link brought me close to his chest. Blood leaked from my wounds profusely, especially from the gashes on my stomach. In spite of this, I motioned for Link to take me to the basan. He did so… reluctantly.

As we neared, I saw and heard Vaati sobbing over his friends body. Ralph's head turned weakly at our approached. That little!... Ralph smiled at us. "Thank you," he said, looking at Link. "If you hadn't done what you did, I would have killed them. So thank you." Link nodded solemnly.

Ralph looked at me now. "You're a kitsune. I've never seen a white one." His smile weakened. "Can you use your true voice manipulation?" he asked out of nowhere.

I nodded. "Y-Yeah," I said quietly.

"I've never heard a kitsune sing… I hear its beautiful. Would you sing for me before I die?"

Vaati's head shot up suddenly, his face puffy. "Please, Misaki," he begged. "For Ralph. Please."

"Okay."

Link sat me down gently, and Vaati maneuvered his friend gently. Ralph's head lay on my lap, his eyes barely open. I placed my hand on his head and began to stroke his hair. Closing my eyes, I began.

**(A.N. If you guys want to hear what I imagined Misaki singing, pull up Lala's Lullaby from D. Grey Man.)**

It was a lullaby. My mother had taught it to me long ago. And it was my favorite.

Despite it being a lullaby, the song had a somber feel to it. It was melancholy and seemed to resonate with those who experienced loss and sacrifice. It was truly sad.

I let the air flow up from my lungs as my lips formed the words, the beautiful melody emerging. Continuing to stroke Ralph's hair as I sang, I could feel how happy he was. Somehow, I could tell he was smiling softly still. And somehow, I knew when his eyes closed. I knew he had passed.

I continued to sing.

I sang and sang until I could sing no more. I had put my heart and soul into that song, and my remaining energy was spent. I was done.

My body grew woozy, and I started to fall. I landed softly into Link's muscled arms. He lifted me up once again, Vaati holding onto Ralph's head, clutching it tightly. He rocked back and forth, tears pouring from his eyes. I barely made out those few words he uttered. "Thank you, Misaki. Thank you."

Link held me close, a rumbling sound emerging from his throat. I smiled weakly but led it fade quickly as I looked into the owner's box. The two people were gone. Just who were they?

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of that long chapter. Hope you guys liked it.<strong>

**FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS! I need more people to vote on my poll for Isle of Shifters. We currently have a tie between two different people… so no winner yet. So VOTE! And tell your friends!**

**SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS! In a few days, I will be posting a new story: a one shot dedicated to the release of Majora's Mask 3DS. You'll have to read it to find out what it's about.**

**Translations:**

**1)****Kitsunebi – foxfire.**

**2)****Basan – A Japanese demon resembling a chicken or rooster. Very brightly colored and very rare. Warning: they breathe fire!**

**3)****Kokoro no yūgō – literally meaning "mind fusion." Misaki used this new ability to delve into Ralph's mind, basically synchronizing it with her own.**

**Now, before I tell you to rate and review, I have some words to say with the anime fans here. Assuming everyone reading this has watched a few animes in the English dub, listen to this: J. Michael Tatum is a famous voice actor who has played many people. People such as: Zarbon from Dragon Ball, Hokushin from Yu Yu Hakusho, Rikichi from Samurai 7, Sebastian from Black Butler, Kyoya from Ouran High School Host Club, Kosuke Kanzaki from Black Cat, Age from Heroic Age, Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist, Lunar's dad from My Bride is a Mermaid, Jiro Mochizuki from Black Blood Brothers, Tuto from Birdy the Might: Decode, Giriko from Soul Eater, Craft Lawrence from Spice and Wolf, Tomoe from Kamisama-Kiss, etc. **

**Now that you know all this, knowing that this guy has played pretty scary, intelligent, intimidating, fearsome, cool, violent characters. I shall now leave you with a few last words… this guy plays France from Hetalia and Komui from D. Grey Man!**

**Crowd: What?! Impossible!**

**Bye! (runs away) Rate and review! (voice fades out)**


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